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FFA-203 Mave air dominance fighter
The FFA-203 Mave is an air superiority fighter produced and operated by the Confederation of the New Free Planets Alliance. The Mave was developed as the successor to the early 200-series fighters as the Ground Force sought to expand its planetary warfighting capacity. The Mave is a relatively specialized craft, designed specifically to engage other fighters, often in conjunction with drones but also in independent squadrons. The FFA-203 entered service in 2007, replacing the FFA-200 (formerly F-320A) Tanto air superiority fighter. In this capacity it proved much superior due to a combination of improved technology and lessons learned from the development of mobile units, then coming into service in all branches of the Defense Force. The use of mobile unit technology allows the Mave the use of much more flexible swing-wing and variable geometry systems, coupled with drastically improved thrust output. Two primary versions of the Mave are in service, the standard, manned FFA-203, and the unmanned FFA/D-203 drone, referred to as the Rafe. The modular cockpit system allows for the removal of the entire unit and its replacement with an advanced flight control computer, capable of carrying out a mission independently or being remotely operated from a base station. Occasional minor variations are made based on atmospheric conditions, but all airframes are manufactured to the same spec from the Sky City factories. History The early FFA-200 Tanto had proved to be a reasonably capable plane, especially when matched against the aircraft fielded by the militaries of Arzor, who had not yet reached technological parity with the Alliance. Atmospheric fighters had been out of use for centuries, and a major learning curve was involved to re-develop them. As a result, the Tanto's design was very conservative, while it exceeded that of local fighters, it was in turn exceeded by other nations later encountered with greater ground combat experience, and it was decided a replacement was required. Kerla Aerospace was contracted to begin development of this new fighter, in conjunction with the National Defense Laboratory. Kerla had exhibited several advanced concept fighters, which were unfortunately hamstrung by technology gaps at their time of development. The National Defense Laboratory was able to quickly provide several technologies to overcome these gaps, the most important being the high-strength, lightweight servo-motors necessary to actuate the movable wing system at hypersonic speeds. Relative to previous designs, Kerla's proposal was quite radical, relying most prominently on a movable wing system that allowed the aircraft to not only transition from a swept-forward to a swept-back position, but also to move the wings with almost complete freedom in three dimensions, allowing for nearly unparalleled mobility. This was combined with improved reaction turbines to produce vastly increased speed and agility, and fully dynamic stability in flight. Testing and development was relatively quick, taking only a year and a half from project conception to active deployment with the Ground Forces. Rollout proceeded smoothly, but the fighter's first sortie would come shortly after, during the Cambrian Civil War. Several squadrons were launched from the Iolan Special Administrative Region in defense of the area from attack by rogue Cambrian elements, but ultimately contributed little to the battle that remained primarily a space one. Design Kerla Aerospace's designers took the lead in conceptual design, relying on the National Defense Laboratory to furnish the technologies needed to realize the design. Although designed as an air superiority fighter, with maneuverability the primary consideration, the Mave was also to be a passable ground-attack aircraft, able to act as a support aircraft in an emergency situation, and have at least some multi-role capability. Engines The Mave's engines, as well as all of the engines used by the later-model 200-series fighters, are F300X reaction turbines provided by El-Facil Defense. Compared to the earlier FNX-4589-C-12 Phoenix Mk IX turbines installed in the FFA-200 Tanto, the F300X is an enormous improvement, and the thrust vectoring system has been expanded with variable-compression scramjet boosters to push the Mave's streamlined frame to near-orbital speeds within an Earth-like atmosphere. As with the Phoenix Mk IX, the Mk XI is more than capable of providing sufficient thrust to vertically propel the Mave into satellite orbit. However, more notable is its much finer control of output, allowing the craft to literally hover vertically in place using its twin main turbines alone, without the use of vectoring fans traditionally used in VTOL aircraft. In space, the air intakes are sealed and the turbine shifts to direct plasma expulsion mode to provide thrust in a vacuum environment. Small thrust conduits in conjunction with the thrust vectoring system allow maneuvering in space, but even so, the Mave is not as maneuverable as heavier space fighters in a vacuum. Armament The Mave is equipped with standard integrated fighter weapons, namely a single nose-mounted 35 mm rapid-fire railgun with both explosive and armor-piercing smart shells. Round count was decreased but caliber increased relative to previous generation fighters, the shift to a primarily laser-based armament and improved targeting and accuracy making the change considered a worthwhile tradeoff. The cannon is mounted to fire directly along the centerline, just below the cockpit but above the air intake. For recoil control issues, the gun is limited to a firing velocity of 3,500 m/s at 500 rounds per second, but often fires in shorter bursts, using the smart ammo and onboard targeting computer to ensure improved impact chances, although the gun is primarily designed for anti-ground use. The primary solid-state laser systems are located just behind the cockpit, behind the canards and above the primary air intake, the lasers themselves emitted directly forward on either side of the cockpit. Reflector systems also allow the beams to be directed to the rear , upward, or directly downward, and moved within a thirty-degree range from these cardinal directions, with sufficient accuracy to target incoming ordinance. The system's output is sufficient to destroy other aircraft, as well as inflict serious damage on unshielded ground vehicles. Rounding out the integrated armament is a series of micro-missile batteries, each containing twenty 80 mm light missiles. These missiles use a thrust-vectoring system combined with high-agility multi-point micro-jets to control their direction, having a maximum flight range of 10 kilometers. Weighing eight kilograms each, with a one kilogram exploisve warhead, they are capable of downing unshielded light aircraft such as fighters with a single good hit, or large aircraft with a direct hit on the engines or primary control surfaces. More commonly, however, they are used as supplementary defensive weapons, against missiles or as a distractionary measure, as their short range makes them relatively easy to avoid. Four batteries fire directly upward forward and aft of the wing servos, with two more firing downward, forward of the servos and outboard of the engines. Rounding out the variable armament is a trio of payload bays, and four external hardpoints. The payload bays are mounted under the central fuselage, the port and starboard bays located in front of the engines and the central bay further back, behind the laser systems and between the main engines. Four hardpoints are attached to the wings themselves, both above and below, but are considered mounts of last resort, as they interfere with the plane's aerodynamics and stealth qualities. Stealth Given the proliferation of ultra-high resolution radar and detection systems, a passively-stealthy design was not considered a high priority, and passive stealth was only added where no performance impact would be made. The aircraft was also coated in a radar-absorbent sheath, although durability and survivability at the ultra-high pressures and temperatures experienced during hypersonic flight were prioritized. Instead, active jamming and protective systems were included. In addition to the standard color-shift coating, thermoptic camouflage was included in the design, allowing the Mave to all but disappear from visual and thermal scans, although a residual heat bloom may still be detected at high speeds and ultra-sensitive optical cameras may be able to detect atmospheric disruptions caused by high-speed flight. An internal jamming pod is designed to impede or defeat lock-on attempts by enemy sensors. Cockpit The Mave's cockpit unit is a modular pod, with an upper hemisphere completely enclosed in reinforced transparent aluminum allowing extreme visibility. The transparent aluminum is resistant to light small arms fire and can be polarized to reduce sun glare. HUD systems can be projected as well on any part of the surface, although more often the plane is piloted by direct cyberbrain interface or helmet-mounted controls. In the event of an emergency requiring escape, the entire upper dome is ejected in a single piece, and the pilot's seat initiates its ejection sequence, using redundant ejection rails and an intelligent onboard system to avoid collisions and ensure the pilot's safety even in the event of a blackout. As standard, the cockpit also includes an inertial dampening system to reduce g-force stresses on the pilot to prevent blackouts and allow the fighter to perform at its greatest capacity. The entire cockpit unit is modular, however, and attached to a mechanical extension system. When on the ground, the cockpit is raised out of its flight position, providing superior visibility for ground operations and allowing easier egress. This is also used to replace the entire cockpit system, either for a new unit, or for the unmanned drone system, which converts the FFA-203 into the FFA/D-203 drone. Sensors and Avionics The FFA-203's onboard electronics suite is designed for both maximum awareness and durability in the field. Sensor tiles located throughout the aircraft provide all-round sensor coverage, out to 1,200 kilometers in an atmospheric environment, and further in space. The Mave's sensors are sensitive enough to defeat most middle-range stealth techniques, as it is designed to find and engage other aircraft with a similar role. The Mave's onboard radar system has an output sufficient to allow it to be used as a microwave weapon, with sufficient precision of targeting and output to be used as a non-lethal crowd control device at an airbase or to kill the pilot of an unshielded aircraft in flight. The Mave is also designed to fight as a unit integrated into the larger battle network maintained by the Defense Force, and as such can easily send and receive data from other sources. It is capable of feeding targets and receiving targeting information from other craft, as well as transmitting or receiving a complete sensor feed. Specifications General Characteristics *'Crew:' 2 (Pilot, EWO/WSO) *'Length:' 18.00 meters *'Wingspan:' 14.52 meters *'Height:' 6.28 meters *'Empty Weight:' 22,820 kg *'Loaded Weight:' 56,350 kg *'Max Takeoff Weight:' 100,780 kg *'Powerplant:' 2 x El-Facil Defense FNX-5011-D-20 Phoenix Mk XI Vectored Thrust Variable Output Thermonuclear Reaction Turbine, 800+ kN each Performance *'Maximum Speed:' **'Maximum Speed: '''20,000 km/h (Mach 16.34 at 1 atm) **'Supercruise:' 15,240 km/h (Mach 12.44 at 1 atm) **'Space:' 60% lightspeed *'Range:' Unlimited *'Service Ceiling:' Unlimited (capable of launching into satellite orbit over Earth-class planet) *'Armament:' **'Integrated:' ***1 x 35 mm rapid-fire rail-gun (580 rounds) ***1 x Radar-based microwave device ***2 x 400 kW laser emitter ***6 x micro-missile launchers (20 rounds each) **'Additional:' ***'Hardpoints:' 3 x primary payload bay, 2 x outer-wing hardpoint, 2 x overwing hardpoint **'Equipment:''' ***Automated Decoy Dispensers ***Thermoptic Camouflage ***NBC protected ***Scramjet Booster ***Reduced Signature Stealth Coating ***Self-healing nanoweave support system Category:New Free Planets Alliance Category:Military Equipment Category:Aircraft Category:Fighters Category:Free Planets Ground Force Category:Free Planets Marine Corps